BBC Radio 4, 10 December 2010
The play tells the story of the tense negotiations that led towards the
signing of the Lancaster House agreement in 1979, which paved the way for Zimbabwe's independence. It shows the complexity
of the process: there was no one party representing the Rhodesian/ Zimbabwean white and black populations, but rather a series
of competing groups, each with their own particular aims and objectives. The whites were led by former President Ian Smith
(William Gaminara), who was determined not to cede anything to the blacks if he could help it, while simultaneously understanding
that white minority rule could no longer prevail. The focus of black interests centred on Joshua Nkomo (Jude Akuwudike) and
Robert Mugabe (Lucian Msamati), who led their own particular groups. Mugabe was portrayed as a shrewd political operator with
a sense of the justness of his cause; having seen his own people slaughtered in cold blood by the whites - with tacit support
from the British - he was in no mood to make concessions.
While not actively sympathizing with Mugabe, the play suggests that his stance was
perfectly justified; he did not trust the British, the whites, or the other black groups. Maybe his suspicions were justified:
the British negotiating team led by Lord Carrington (Richard Cordery) were perpetually trying to forge deals with Nkomo and
Bishop Muzorewa (Chuk Iwuji) away from the negotiating-table (sometimes even in the washrooms). Even though Carrington repeatedly
protests his innocence, it seems as if his position concerning Rhodesia/ Zimbabwe's independence is dominated by the colonialist
mentality. The country can have self-government, so long as a British statesperson is there to oversee the transformation.
God's President tells a chronological tale, punctuated with flashbacks to
earlier periods in Mugabe's career (for example, his imprisonment by the British) that help us to understand his position
better. While Kwame Kwei-Armah does not exactly call for a redefinition of Mugabe's public image, he does invite us to understand
the Zimbabwean leader's motives, and why he acted as he did in the late 1970s. From a present-day perspective, the play also
explains why Mugabe has become more and more entrenched in his attitudes, and why he expelled white Zimbabweans once he ascended
to the presidency of his country. They were always a threat to his position, even though they protested their loyalty to his
cause. The director of this Friday Play was Jeremy Mortimer.
